Kanye West Performs For 118,000 In Turkey—Despite Cancellations Over Antisemitic Behavior

BreakingBusinessKanye West Performs For 118,000 In Turkey—Despite Cancellations Over Antisemitic BehaviorByTy Roush,Forbes Staff. Ty Roush is a breaking news reporter based in New York City.Follow AuthorMay 31, 2026, 11:01am EDTToplineKanye West performed to a stadium crowd of more than 100,000 fans in Turkey on Saturday, his first performance in Europe in more than a decade, as the rapper attempts a comeback following immense backlash to his long history of virulent antisemitic remarks, which derailed his career. West’s performance was his first in Europe in more than a decade. AFP via Getty ImagesKey FactsWest performed inside Istanbul’s Ataturk Olympic Stadium for roughly two hours to about 118,000 fans on Saturday, the Turkish state-run Anadolu Agency reported, marking West’s first appearance in Europe since 2014 (the concert was also livestreamed on YouTube).Rapper Travis Scott reportedly joined West on stage during the event.His concert follows the cancellation of a tour stop in Marseille, France, in April after Marseille Mayor Benoît Payan refused to have the city serve as a “showcase for those who promote hatred and unapologetic Nazism,” and the cancellation of the U.K.’s Wireless Festival after it picked West as a headlining act. if (!window.cnxel) { window.cnxel = {}; window.cnxel.cmd = []; var iframe = document.createElement('iframe'); iframe.style.display = 'none'; iframe.onload = function() { var iframeDoc = iframe.contentWindow.document; var script = iframeDoc.createElement('script'); script.src = '//cd.elements.video/player.js?cid=62cec241-7d09-4462-afc2-f72f8d8ef40a'; script.setAttribute('defer', '1'); script.setAttribute('type', 'text/javascript'); iframeDoc.body.appendChild(script); }; document.head.appendChild(iframe); const preloadResourcesEndpoint = 'https://cds.elements.video/a/preload-resources-ovp.json'; fetch(preloadResourcesEndpoint, { priority: 'low' }) .then(response => { if (!response.ok) { throw new Error('Network response was not ok',...